A Life Anew
by Anima Panthera
Summary: Hiccup and Toothless leave after Hiccup's father, Stoick, says that he is no son of his. He and his dragon live their life traveling and on a journey together that will change them both forever. For better or worse? If they knew, there would be no adventure!
1. Pt 1

"You're not a viking...you're not my son."

The words resonated throughout the empty hall. Hiccup looked up at his father in dismay. All he wanted was to make him proud, but it seemed that all he managed to do was make things worse. Stoick turned to his son one final time and looked him in the eyes. He didn't say one word, nor did he make any gestures. His eyes were filled with nothing but disappointment and shame as he stared down at his weak son. Hiccup reached up with a shred of will still holding on, hoping that his father would retract his words and help him up. Unfortunately, his father pushed his hand aside and turned to walk out of the door, motioning to some other vikings to lock up Toothless.

Hiccup just sat and watched as his father walked away. He choked back tears but couldn't fight it any longer. Letting out an angered growl he stood up and hit the door. Once, twice, three times until his knuckles were a bloody mess. All of the anger, frustration, and hopelessness that he had been feeling finally welled up inside of his body and came out. He couldn't stop the tears from flowing, and just stood there in the dark, holding his stomach and sobbing. Astrid walked quietly into the hall and placed her hand on his shoulder. She pulled him into a hug and spoke quietly.

"You know, I will help you free Toothless...I can see how much he means to you." she said in a hushed voice. "it won't be easy, but we know where they keep the dragons for holding, it's just a matter of actually getting to them. What do you say?" Astrid held one of Hiccup's hands and waited for his reply. He looked at her scowled, not because he was angry at her, but because he was finally done.

"How much time to we have before they're ready to set off?" Hiccup said, the ferocity of his question hanging in the air. "I'm going to get Toothless, and then we're leaving."

"I-i don't know for sure" Astrid stammered. "Last I heard they were getting ready to set off in an hour or so...what's your plan?" she brushed her hair out of her face and Hiccup looked out of the door. He could see the vikings running to and fro, preparing the ships for the upcoming battle. Hiccup pulled Astrid out of the door with him and towards the dragon training grounds. He could hear Toothless as they got closer, and a lump formed in his throat. Toothless sounded frightened, and Hiccup felt crushed that he had not kept him from this happening.

The pair ducked down into the entry way of the training grounds and crept inside. There were vikings in front of Toothless's door holding it shut.

"Let me handle this part. You just worry about getting Toothless and yourself out of here." Astrid pulled Hiccup back and kissed him. They stood in silence for a moment before Astrid smiled and ran towards the vikings. Hiccup ran further inside the grounds and ducked down behind the fallen weapon stand. He could barely make out what Astrid was telling the vikings but before long whatever she was saying worked because she and the others went running past him and up to the main grounds. Toothless burst through the doors of his confinement and landed right on top of Hiccup. He was so happy to see him and began licking his face. Before long, however, the reunion was interrupted by Stoick's voice bellowing towards them.

"Hiccup! You back away from that dragon this instant." his father ordered. Toothless stood behind Hiccup, nervous and upset by the situation. Hiccup stood his ground in front of him and placed a hand on his nose. "You heard me boy. Now move, or I'll move you." he threatened.

"No!" Hiccup called back. "I won't let you hurt him. Don't you see? He's not hurting anyone – we've had them all wrong this entire time! When I told you I couldn't kill a dragon, I meant it. Now, if you just hear me out, I can expl-"

"Explain what? How much of a disappointment you are to me? To everyone on this island? I was so proud of you, I thought you were finally becoming the boy I've always wanted you to be, and even better, the viking I knew you would be some day." Stoick took another step forward and Toothless growled. "Now, you've done enough damage in all of your 17 years, I think it's time you back down now and just accept that you will never be one of us." He drew his axe and pointed it directly at the dragon. He kept moving forward, and with each step Toothless became more and more antsy.

"Dad, why don't you ever just listen to me? Why can't you trust me?" Hiccup stood between his father and his dragon, and Stoick shoved him aside. Toothless stood up on his hind legs and came down on Stoick, pinning him to the ground. He bared his teeth and let out a cry. It was filled with the stress and anguish of the situation, and then he stepped off, head down, and walked over to where Hiccup sat on the ground. He sat down next to him, and just as he did, was greeted with an ax to his leg. He let out another cry, this time of sheer agony. Toothless hit the ax out of Stoick's hand snapped at him.

"Stop it! Stop it right now!" Hiccup yelled at the two. He pulled himself up and mounted Toothless, preparing him for take off. He led the dragon to the door, but before he exited, he looked back at his father. "I love you, dad" he said as they took off, tears rolling down his face as his father turned his back to his words. He didn't know where he was going to go, or even how long it would take to get wherever they were going. All he knew is that he had to get away, and he was leaving everything he once loved behind forever.

-a year later-

"Toothless buddy, you lazy lizard. Get up". Hiccup pushed at his dragon's nose and dumped a pile of fish in front of it. Toothless opened up and eye and stuck his tongue out, grabbing a fish up into his mouth with one swift motion. He got up and wagged his tail happily, partaking in the bounty of fish that lay before him. "Finally. I almost believed you were never getting up again. Have a good night?" Hiccup did his daily routine of checking on his riding gear, then checking on Toothless. He ran his hands over Toothless's smooth skin, feeling each and every scale underneath like it was the first time he's touched him. He cared for any scrapes and massaged any tender spots. Toothless purred happily and let him continue with his inspection.

Hiccup finally came to the scarred leg. He gently touched it, his fingers feeling the cold scar tissue upon his friend's body. The scar was a dull pink now, whereas before it was a bright and almost shimmering magenta. Toothless cocked his head, confused at why Hiccup had stopped his inspection and nosed him.

"Hey, don't do that. Now finish up, we have some work to do today." Hiccup touched the scar one more time and winced.


	2. Pt 2

He felt the familiar pang of guilt in his stomach and turned to get his gear. Toothless followed behind him curiously and continued to nudge Hiccup and tug at his clothes.

"Toothless, I said don't do that. You want to go for a fly, don't you? Don't make me have to...discipline you or something." the dragon grinned and Hiccup sighed. He knew that Toothless knew he could get away with anything. He picked up his riding saddle and put it on Toothless. The dragon wiggled his tail and rolled over, wallowing in the dirt and kicking up dust in the process. Little grunting noises of appreciation made their way out of his mouth and Hiccup had no choice but to laugh. He pulled the reigns out from underneath his friend and tugged.

Toothless took his que and knelt low on the ground. His body wiggled with anticipation and as soon as he felt the familiar weight of his flying partner on his back, he took off, straight up into the sky. He flew through the clouds, and licked at the dew that formed on his nose. Hiccup leaned forward and patted his head in approval. Toothless hooked a left and flew towards the mountains, where their day's adventure were supposed to begin. Hiccup scanned the horizon and watched below as some adolescent dragons tried to keep pace with the two. They failed, and one by one fell back, a dejected tone to their grunts and howls.

Toothless neared the edge of the mountain peaks and let out playful coos. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and he did somersaults, much to Hiccup's dissatisfaction.

"Toothless, what are you doing? Are you just trying to make me vomit, because if you keep it up, your wish will be my command." Hiccup held his stomach with one hand and led Toothless to where he wanted him to go with the other. The two came up on a small beach, and Toothless squished the sand between his toes. Hiccup dismounted and took a look around; marine creatures scurried about on the sand, birds and dragons alike flew overhead, and the soft smell of brine wafted on the breeze.

"You overgrown kitten, get over here. I have an idea, but you've got to bear with me." Toothless's ears perked up and he scrunched his sand-covered nose. He picked up the crab he was playing with and trotted over to where Hiccup was, dropping it at his feet. "Thank you, for that. It's what I've always wanted. A crab. Now get over here and stop fooling around for just two minutes. Listen, I want to try something that we haven't exactly tried before. I want to try going for a swim."

Toothless looked at Hiccup with a confused look. He eyed the water nervously and shifted, and walked towards the water. He stepped in up to his knees and let his tail float on top. He dipped his head in and snapped at the few fish that swam by. He pulled his head out when Hiccup got on his back. He sat low and close to Toothless, and it baffled the dragon. Hiccup spoke into his ear softly.

"Okay buddy. I want you to walk until the water gets deep, and then we're going to dive in. If you get too scared you can always come back to shore. Now are you sure you want to try this out?" He rubbed behind his dragon's ears and breathed deep. He wasn't sure how the swimming would pan out, but he had faith in his companion. He felt Toothless walk forward and braced himself closer to the dragon. He shifted his foot and pulled his tail fin in, just as Toothless went for the dive.

The two practically flew through the water, and Hiccup strained to open his eyes, he kept them closed and hugged tight around Toothless's neck. The dragon went deeper and deeper, twisting and turning until coming to a complete stop. Hiccup lifted his head and opened his eyes, and what he saw next surprised him: a small dragon stared bewilderingly at them, looked almost identical to Toothless. It held up its paw, and the webbing between its toes glistened in the water. Toothless looked at his own paw and back at the new dragon's, before Hiccup motioned for him to swim back to the surface. Toothless followed the request and swam back up and to shore, turning around to stare back into the waters. He paced at the edge, and Hiccup dismounted him.

"Hey, you saw that too, then. Kinda funny, huh? He looked just like...you." Toothless's ears perked and he looked almost unhappy that his new encounter was cut so short. Toothless looked up and over Hiccup's shoulder, and when Hiccup turned to see what had the dragon so distracted, the small look-alike had its head poked ever so slightly above water, his long, forked tongue gently flowing in the water. Hiccup took a step towards the water's edge and the small creature hissed at him and disappeared.

Toothless ran towards the water and looked around nearly frantic. He hopped around, and flew out and kept looking between the ocean in front of him and his friend behind. Hiccup eyed Toothless apologetically and rubbed the back of his neck. He could tell already that whatever he had planned for the day just wasn't going to work out.


End file.
